The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research at Umm Al-Qura University, yesterday, on Saturday, concluded the Safety in Hajj and Umrah Program via its training platform “Wifadah”. The program provided 4 courses on 4 days, 5 hours per day, with a total of 20 training hours. The topics covered dealt with emergency, evacuation and rescue plans, risk analysis and control, as well as prevention methods and proactive measures to manage crises. This is in addition to discussing and analyzing the recurring risks in Hajj and Umrah.

Moreover, the Dean of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Institute for Hajj and Umrah Research at Umm Al-Qura University, Dr. Turki Al-Amro, stressed that the program aims to raise the level of awareness and readiness in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH), intensifying the cognitive aspects of the safety requirements to deal with risks and crisis management. He added that the program seeks to qualify the trainees in the areas of preparing emergency and evacuation plans to protect people and facilities. The program also provides the trainees with information and data to study the Hajj and Umrah environment in order to improve the services in the holy sites.

Furthermore, Dr. Turki Al-Amro stated the institute continues to offer qualitative training programs and scientific studies in an effort to develop the Hajj and Umrah environment and its services, thereby fulfilling the objectives of the program to serve the pilgrims, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030. In this context, he appreciated the support and patronage of the President of the University, Prof. Moaddi bin Muhammad Aal Madh-hab, for the Wifadah training platform and also his support for the institute’s scientific outputs.

The number of beneficiaries of the training program totaled more than 900 male and female trainees, representing 77 different entities. The online training courses on the website reached more than 10,000 views.

The training program was presented by Dr. Talal Mandora, a faculty member at the College of Engineering and Islamic Architecture at Umm Al-Qura University and a Certified International Trainer of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the International Society of Safety Professionals (ISSP).